Albinism
by chirpingfish
Summary: Little snippets of Shen's past life and how he came to be.
1. I'll Stare

A/N: I've seen plenty of stories surrounding Shen's childhood and how he came to be. A perfect example would be "The Life and Times of Lord Shen" by Domenic, its complete genius and I love it to pieces. But I've decided to do my own spin-off and see how it develops. Keep in mind that these are just snippets of Shen's past it's more of a collection than an actual story.

And before I forget, I portray the characters differently from how DreamWorks has developed them such as the Soothsayer actually being around the same age as Shen and is one of his childhood friends, along with the Wolf Boss.

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><p><strong>I'll Stare<strong>

He had seen her around the palace trailing behind another goat, perhaps her mother. He wasn't stupid, he could see her from the corner of his eyes taking quick glances at him whenever she'd get the chance, but whenever he would try to take a peek at her, the little goat would hide back behind her mother's robes. It irritated Shen, because at some point the constant staring of those amber eyes looking at him got awkward.

Now, whenever he'd see the blasted goat staring at him he'd continue on as if he hadn't noticed anything. He could understand why if not everyone, some people took a second glance at his features.

He was different, so what? White wasn't exactly the color of luck in China, so what? People wore white at funerals, and he's been to plenty, none of which had proven to be at all worth of his time – but he went, to pay his respects. If paying respect to the dead was easily done at a funeral, why did people treat him differently whenever he'd step foot outside the palace? Even his own parents sometimes showed signs of fear or hesitation, they'd never admit it but he could see it in their eyes.

But that goat, that _damn_ goat – he hated that brat. Always staring and never leaving him alone. She was everywhere! Whenever he'd make his way to the other side of the palace to meet his tutor, she was there passing by him in the halls carrying a pile of folded laundry in her arms. When he went to train with Thundering Rhino, the goat was there watching him. When he was eating with his parents, she stood silently by a pillar waiting to offer his next meal along with other servants. It was a relief that she wasn't around when it was his time to bathe, thank the gods.

Weeks would pass and Shen would find the same goat staring at him, her striking ambers burning into his crimson ones. Her blank stare made the experience even worse, and he tried not to imagine finding her at the foot of his bed at night just _staring_ at him. What a scare that would be, he wouldn't be able to sleep alone for months, maybe even a year.

Shen shuddered at the thought as he continued out into the gardens where Thundering Rhino would usually be waiting. The master wasn't there, and the prince raised a brow at this. "… Master Rhino?"

He waited for a moment and no one came. Shen was beginning to think it was some sort of new test his training master had bestowed onto him to test his patience, but when a guard standing erect at his post called to him, Shen's shoulders dropped. "He is discussing important matters with the Council at the moment, your lordship. He apologizes for not telling you sooner, the call came so suddenly."

"Oh, okay." his little voice replied, and the peacock child began heading back inside when he remembered something. The goat was there, guaranteed and today would be the day he confronted the brat. He couldn't stand her staring at him any longer, but when Shen turned to expect a petite figure by a tree, his little observer wasn't there too.

"Huh? What…" He trailed off at realization that no one would be observing him today.

He couldn't help but think about the little goat, despite the fact that she gave him the most strangest of feelings; butterflies in his stomach. Shen blinked once, twice to make sure that he wasn't mental and had been imagining things all along before he trotted inside and headed towards the library.

Somewhere on his way to the book room, he heard faint coughs and sniffles drifting into the hallway. He followed the soft cries and entered the servant's quarters.

There, sitting on the bed was the goat. Shen frowned and stood straight with his beak in the air, it was time to approach his annoying observer. Of course, he would've continued if he hadn't noticed the hiccupping cries were coming from the other child. He looked around the room to see if anyone else was present, before making his way over.

"Are you okay?" Shen asked hesitantly, he didn't want to startle the girl.

The goat stopped her crying to look at the prince who had entered the room, for a moment she looked like she was going to respond but ended up crying again, desperately wiping at her eyes with the help of her hooves.

Shen's features wore of sadness and worry, "Where's your mama? The tall goat is your mama, right?" _Please say yes, please answer_. He hadn't the slight clue why the girl was crying, but he didn't know what else to ask or do to distract the goat from whatever she was feeling at the moment.

He almost smiled when she responded with a slight nod of a head and continued to sniffle, "Where is your mama? Why are you crying?"

"… She went to get medicine from the market."

"Why?"

"I don't feel good, my heard hurts a lot."

"Oh."

"Why are you here?"

Shen raised his brows, "What?"

"Don't you have important things to do?" the girl responded between slowing sobs, and alas she wiped the final of her tears and waited for an answer.

Her stare wasn't one of awkwardness like the ones Shen had witnessed before, but it could very well be because the goat wasn't entirely focused at the moment. She had just been balling her eyes out before he decided to come in and tried to comfort her, and so far his company has been a good distraction. "I was wondering where you were because you'd always be watching me."

The goat said nothing and only looked down. Shen knew something was up, and he wasn't leaving until he found out, "Why are you always watching me?" there was a hint of annoyance in his voice, but he kept his control from shouting it out.

Again, the goat said nothing and Shen urged, louder this time, "Don't you have any servant duties to do?" he stated rather coldly and regretted it when the goat began to sniffle again, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to…"

"You looked lonely."

It was Shen's turn to hang his head, he did feel lonely but only because other peacocks of his age found him rather strange to play with. They said that it didn't matter if they were his cousin, or a commoner but his colors were so striking and bright that he'd always be the center of their attention – he wouldn't be much of a challenge to find in a game of hide and seek, and he'd only be a distraction in tag and other games that involved normal kids to play them normal games. Normal games his tail feathers.

"… Do you want to be friends?" Shen was surprised at this, especially when it had been him who said it. He said nothing for the question felt right coming from his beak, and so he waited.

When the goat slowly smiled, he knew what the answer would be.


	2. How to Get the Ladies

A/N: I thought I've seen some lurking around the site, but it may have just been my imagination since my friend wrote some but she never bothered posting them online because of possible flames. But when I find some online besides ours I will point it out, Domenic!

For now, enjoy this new chapter. Please note that Shen is around his young adult years in this chapter, along with his friends the Soothsayer and Wolf Boss.

**How to Get the Ladies**

"If you listen to me, you'll get this girl."

Shen fidget slightly, rubbing an arm in a nervous manner. He was never good with ladies and he knew it. The thing is that he wasn't sure if he really did feel something for Lien the goat. She was his friend, and they've been a pair for the past eight years now, but he never considered her as a possible crush. Becoming a couple would make things awkward.

"I don't want to _get_ her, Hue. I want to ask her to the festival, you know… as friends?" He raised a brow and shrugged to emphasize his point, it was a sort of defense mechanism. It helped him calm down, just a tiny bit. The conversation brought back strange memories, such as the time he and Hue had first met.

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><p><em>It had been around spring. The month when cherry blossoms bloomed and the breeze felt gentle on his feathers, when Shen accompanied his mother to the market to buy spools of threads and spices for their meals. He had been wanting to go since the New Years but his father and the royal escorts had already went out to buy groceries and decorations, everything on the list was done by the time Shen offered to help.<em>

_Also, his father sounded bored when he asked and the young prince didn't bother pushing his luck._

_Finding the trip to the spool shop rather boring, Shen told his mother that he would take a guard with him and look around various stalls to his liking. She agreed and off the prince went. The first stall that caught his attention was a calligraphy shop, scrolls partnered with paint sets sat on the shelves. The owner of the shop said nothing but bowed, waiting for him to choose or leave. He couldn't tell with antelopes because their eyes confused him. Were they watching or afraid of him?_

_Shen gave a polite nod and continued, finding more stalls to look at. There were some close calls, but none that have caught his absolute interest._

_He eventually stopped at a kite shop to look at the endless shapes of the flying toys. There were circles and squares, dragons and peacocks and others. It wasn't the best thing he'd seen all day, but he wanted to try flying one. He'd seen other kids fly it with their friends, surely it was simple. Maybe he could ask his father to join him fly it for the first time._

"_Hey," a raspy, but soft voice grabbed his attention, "What's a fine lady like you doing in a place like this?"_

_Lady? Hah! Who was this idiot? Shen turned to find a wolf leaning against the stall counter. It was scruffy, in need of a good bath and had a distracting bushy tail. Clearly, the idiot had poor eye sight if he had mistaken _him_, the prince for a lady. "Uh, excuse me? You should consider getting your eyes checked, wolf. I'm not a girl."_

_Shen huffed as he watched the dog jump about a feet into the air when it had realized its mistake, and land directly on the ground face first. "Shit—I mean oh man, prince Shen! I am so sorry. I could've sworn you looked like a woman from behind."_

"… _Are you saying you were _checking_ me out, commoner?" How dare this idiot mistake him for a woman, he didn't look like a girl – it was his height, his damn height!_

"_Y—n-no sir!"_

_A growl escaped his beak, and he would've pecked the fool's eyes out if he hadn't the patience to keep control. He heard his mother calling, and Shen kicked dust at his feet, spitting words at the commoner before him and stomping off in anger with his palace escort trailing behind._

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><p>They headed to the one place where there would be plenty of ladies to test their charms on, a Geisha house. Or a prostitution home, as the peacock prince liked to call it. In most cases, the purpose of a Geisha house <em>was<em> to serve men – sexually.

"Isn't this illegal?" Shen stated, staring at the medium sized residential home that was a Geisha house.

"It's not illegal if no one _knows_ about it."

"I should tell my parents."

"What? No!" Hue waved his paws frantically, which Shen raised his brows to questioningly.

"I don't see the point of… a _prostitution_ home sitting in the middle of Gongmen City. This is China, not Japan."

"You're a racist."

"I'm not a racist! We don't have courtesans in China!" Shen whined, trying to win his argument. He was right and he knew it; Geisha houses belonged to the Japanese and if his father found out about this one there will be trouble for the people working within the building.

"Well you do _now_." Hue said, patting Shen behind the back and leading him inside.

The young prince felt a lump in his throat rise as the afternoon sun disappeared and his eyes met nothing but darkness, and felt the warmth of Hue's paw on his shoulder. What has he gotten himself into? He should've never asked a wolf to help him with his girl problems, especially Hue. His friend was more of an immigrant than actual citizen of China and it often caused problems because of their differing cultures; Hue came from Japan, and Thundering Rhino had warned him about the Japanese and their interests – 'crazy' as they were described.

It didn't matter to Shen who he hung out with it was just times like these when Hue presented him with far more than what he had asked for. The prince's eyes scanned the darkness, "I don't think this is a very good…"

_Clang_! Gongs vibrated, lights illuminated the darkness when lanterns were lit, and music started to play. The dancer on stage was fluid as the melody from the flute Shen was hearing, and he turned away bashfully. Albeit the Geisha's fully clothed, layered robes fluttering in the air, the prince wasn't used to seeing such abounding amount of make-up. The way the women moved was much too enticing for him and it made the more reason for him to look away.

He wasn't here to be entertained.

"Loosen up Shen, don't tell me you're hard already." His wolf friend teased, slapping his back and making him yelp silently.

Shen frowned as he fell against a nearby table, "Oh yes, _please_ do talk like an idiot. It amuses me so." he pulled a seat and sat down. They were making no progress whatsoever. Why did Hue have to make something as simple as answering a question so damn difficult? _Stupid wolf_.

Shen was surprised when he looked around and found familiar faces in the crowd watching; guards from the palace, market suppliers and fathers of children he knew from the village – it disgusted him. He could understand the palace guards and market folks, but actual fathers with children and wives? How unethical, he hated this Geisha house already.

"Okay Shen, I found a girl." Hue approached the peacock. Shen turned his full attention to the wolf and rolled his eyes as he got off his seat.

"Oh fun." He said with a noticeable hint of sarcasm in his voice. The prince sighed, and rolled his eyes, following after his friend.

As they approached a woman in the distance, Shen obediently stayed out of boredom as Hue gestured for him to watch and learn. As promised, Shen watched and his bored expression turned to one of worry and then quick winces as he watched Hue take a beating surprisingly by the same woman he had tried to hit on.

It wasn't until Shen followed suit after the wolf had been thrown out that he got an answer as to why what happened, happened.

"I called her ugly."

Shen shook his head, "Why?"

"Because she said I have a small-"

"Never mind, don't tell me. Please."

"Are you sure?" The wolf looked from his spot on the floor, one eye shut from the beating he had received.

"Positive."

"Okay then off to plan 'b'."

Shen sighed, "… You've got to be kidding…"

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><p>Lien was folding clothes from morning laundry when she heard a knock on the door. Hesitantly, she set the faded table cloth down and approached the door with caution. Her mama had went out to the market again to buy her more medicine for her headaches, along with groceries, and Lien knew that her mother never knocked since she usually came home with a cart that assisted her.<p>

She took a quick peek out the window and was surprised to see white spotted feathers peeking out of a robe at the front of her door. Although most of the figure couldn't be seen from the quick glance, she very knew who her visitor was.

Wait, she've seen this before in her visions. Lien could never quite understand what her visions meant but most of them involved prince Shen one way or the other, but his were always so vague.

The goat trotted over to her door and unlocked it. The door wung open and revealed a slightly taller, lithe figure known as Shen. Lien stared at him for a moment, and when the prince said nothing and stared too she took a step back and slowly started closing the door again. How awkward.

"No wait!" Shen said, and stopped her from closing the door with a gentle push of his wing.

Lien peeked out of the crack that was left and opened the door fully again. She was instantly greeted with beautiful flowers being shoved into her arms and she took them gently, looking up at the other child quietly. He nodded, and slowly smiled.

When she took a bite at the flowers Shen's smiled disappeared just as quickly, and Lien could've sworn she heard snickering coming from behind the nearby barrels that sat in front of the porch. She ignored them and kept nibbling at the bouquet, never leaving Shen's gaze.

"Well, uhmm…" The prince fidgeted. "T-those are for you, and I can see you really like them. L-literally."

The young lord tried to smile again and Lien said nothing. She knew he was nervous about something, and her thoughts proved to be true when Shen's tail feathers flared into view so suddenly without any warning. Lien took it to herself to admire the thousands of eyes staring down at her, and Shen desperately tried taming his tail back down.

"I-ignore that! It's just… it's nothing really, just a defense mechanism. _Stay down_!" Shen whispered the last bit as if directed to his tail feathers. He gave up as the silence drew on, and just stared at Lien.

"What?" Lien said.

"What?" Shen responded.

"Why are you just _standing_ there?"

"Oh! Uhm… because I… wanted to ask you something," Time to improvise Shen, "Which is… will-you-come-to-the-festival-with-me?"

The goat giggled, "I can't understand you."

"I… I… I have to go!" And Shen sprinted off, stumbling over himself as he disappeared behind the nearby barrels leaving a dumbstruck Lien. The goat watched, and turned her attention to her flowers. She shrugged and shut the door.

Shen's brows dropped and he frowned at Hue's giggling act. The wolf howled happily, "Oh man, you messed up bad."

"Shut up."


	3. Black & White

A/N: Thank you for your kind reviews, and yes Domenic Lien is the Soothsayer and Hue is Wolf Boss. Speaking about Wolf Boss, he plays a big part in this chapter… kind of. I think you'll recognize this particular scene as soon as you start reading it, so enjoy~

**Black and White**

It's so much easier to see the world in black and white, but instead ashes drifted down from the heavens like snow, smoke stung his eyes, and the inferno of the panda village burned in his mind. He was in hell. Hue swung the lit torch in his paws to brighten his vision. What was he thinking? Why did he agree to this? He could see families in the distance, one in particular that managed to catch his eyes; a mother protecting her child from a pack of wolves, and behind her a baby panda cradling a toy.

Then he saw Shen, clad and proud in his white robes as he approached the infant and its parent. The bird examined them, and looked as if he would set them free at first, but Hue's eyes caught the slow raise of the peacock's wing and he knew what would happen next.

As the wing dropped, the wolf commander averted his eyes from the scene and heard the sickening crunch of a skull, followed by the wails of a child which he knew would haunt him for days to come. The sobs slowly subsided as another crunch echoed in his mind, and when he dared look, he saw the corpse of the mother panda being dragged off into a pile of dead bodies nearby and the baby's body in a soldier's arms. Both left traces of blood trailing behind them, staining grass.

His chest felt heavy as he looked and saw the twinkle in Shen's eyes while standing on a hill not far from the massacre. Still holding the torch in his paw Hue descended from his spot and approached the prince with caution; he had to stop this nightmare. Shen always listened to him; he could put some sense into the idiot's mind.

"What is it now?" The prince questioned. Over twenty pandas were dead, that was hardly the population. Shen had sent troops to rally the rest of the bears and kill them, but it was unlikely his soldiers will get the job done if the actual village was farther ahead. The damn pandas would've seen the fire as a warning. Who started the damn fire? No! He had to continue on with this, his destiny will be panda free – he won't stop until every one of the damn things are dead.

"What are we doing?" Hue asked, taking position beside his friend.

"What are we doing…?" Shen echoed softly, chuckling for a moment to his wolf friend's horror. "We're eliminating pests that stand in our victory's way. Don't tell me you have a problem with _that_, my friend."

"What about the women and children? They… they can hardly defend themselves, they're completely harmless." Hue stepped closer, "We have to stop this Shen, it's not right."

His lordship did not speak, nor did he stumble or sway from the comment. He stood there, like a storm broiling in a cauldron, waiting to be served; however, he had the ability to choose when to give taste. Shen knew what he was doing was unethical – was he afraid? He didn't know if he knew the feeling, he had never felt it before. He had always been nervous, but never afraid. His own actions disturbed him, his actions and choices disturbed Hue.

He was becoming a monster.

No, he wasn't a monster. He was making his father proud. This is what his father would want, to show strength instead of weakness. To his father's eyes, Shen has always been a disappointment right from the moment he entered this very world. There was nothing that can make the king proud, except this; Shen will show his father how strong he really is. He will defy fate, and go on a journey of his own choosing. He will prove Lien wrong.

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><p><em>He roared with anger, swiping at his shelves of trinkets and tools that crashed to the floor with a loud clatter of booms and bangs. Defeated by a warrior of black and white – yin and yang <em>what_? The predicament is wrong it is all just a hoax. Lien could foresee things; she must've been playing with him as revenge for her mother's death, she knew that he would walk in at that time and listen to them speak about his future._

_It was all a hoax, a hoax. He isn't going to be defeated by some fat panda! It is nothing but a hoax, and Lien got him good. That incompetent fool goat – she only wants revenge. His father believed her because she is part of the council, part of their scheming plots to make him feel like rubbish to the point where he'd kill himself. Well, Shen is sorry to disappoint them, because he will show them all. The white prince looked around frantically as something dawned to him; if you can't defeat him in the future, eliminate him now. He scanned around for his blade, and dashed to the nearest drawer when he couldn't find it. He pulled open the drawer, and another, and another finding nothing but scrolls, paint brushes, measuring sticks and blueprints for the soon to be invention he's been working at._

_It wasn't until he did find his blade that he hadn't the time, nor bothered to put it in its sheath and Shen rushed for the door. He pulled the heavy doors open and met amber eyes staring into his dark crimsons; Lien. The peacock frowned and backed away slowly from the entrance of his room as the goat entered slowly. He watched the Soothsayer limp in, supported by her walking stick since the incident._

"_Step aside, Soothsayer."_

"_I will not, what are you planning Shen?" Lien responded cooly, no sign of worry nor suspicion in her voice._

_Shen huffed, "So it seems that you cannot see everything."_

"_Whatever you are planning, will only bring you tragedy."_

"_Of course, what is genocide without tragedy?"_

"… _No…" Lien's expression turned to one of fear, "Do not do it, Shen—"_

"_Don't call me that!" The prince shouted angrily, "It is _Lord _Shen to you, Soothsayer and you cannot change my mind no matter – you can't change it. You can wave that ridiculous cane all you want, nothing will change my mind. You cannot persuade me. Now step aside."_

_The goat stood her ground, "I am not trying to persuade you, Shen—"_

"_Don't call me that…" The peacock growled and walked over to his window, and there Lien was, standing in his way to the outside world._

"_Shen listen to me."_

"_No!" Shen roared for the final time, slipping past the goat. His chest rose and fell with each breath he took and he opened his beak, "I am _done _listening to your foolish prophecies. Tell your warrior Soothsayer, that I have a storm in me that is waiting to be released. Go ahead and tell him."_

"… _I know you Shen, you wouldn't do this."_

_There was a moment of silence._

"_Just _watch_ me." Shen leaped off the balcony, spreading his tail feathers enough to let him glide down towards the military barracks to gather his troops. Lien knew at that moment, Shen wasn't the same prince she had been friends with years ago._

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><p>"No," Shen responded, turning to the wolf, "I am lord here. We will proceed as I say, and I won't have any trouble eliminating who dares stand in my way. Now be a sport and rally the troops, send the second wave in."<p>

The torch suddenly felt heavy and Hue was at a loss for words. "Y-yes sir." He stood silently for a few moments before hanging his head and leaving quickly to gather the troops. He sent the second batch further into the village, but not before whispering to a follow comrade.

"Go, and tell the others before Shen arrives." Pushing the younger wolf to the right direction, he made his way back to tell the prince he had done his duty. Of course Shen wasn't the only one with a trick up his sleeve, not the only one that can control the winds and raise the seas as he wishes, Hue had such powers too. He only hoped that the peacock would never find out about his treachery.

"Kill them all!" He heard Shen holler with a wave of a wing towards another panda cub cradling a toy, this time without any protection; just a cub alone and afraid. He saw two wolves run past him, blades in their hands and Hue joined them. He was the first to pounce.

It was just one cub, not that he could save it anyway. Shen was watching, he had no choice but to do it… he had ordered the rest of the troops ahead to lead the panda villagers further to safety anyway. He knew he couldn't save everyone of them, but at least he was making the effort.

Shen wasn't the only one holding all the cards.

Wind brushed against his fur, his blade and torch hot in his paws as if they'd melt. He floated in the air for a moment as the rest of the world burned before his eyes and around him. He caught the cub's eyes as emotion struck him like lightning.

The panda cub was afraid, but it was just one cub.

Suddenly, reality came flooding back into his mind and a farming utensil collided with his face, sending him flying back and over the peacock prince. His left eye felt numb, and Hue fell with a thud on the blood soaked grass, but before losing consciousness he heard a voice say,

"Take our son and run away!"

It's so much easier to see the world in black and white, but he's stuck living it in grey.


	4. Switch

A/N: Yes, really short! This recent chapter came into mind after watching "Kung Fu Panda 2" again and thinking, 'was Shen really saying that to Po... or was he just covering up his own history'? I don't know, I don't know!

Thank you lots for the reviews. I will eventually write about Lien's accident samus18, don't worry! Just right now, my mind is filled with study material since exams are coming up. Blehh.

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><p><strong>Switch<strong>

No matter how many times he's threatened the same, stinking panda, the idiot always found its way back to him. It irritated him that a pan was able to hold such a flabby bear up by gods even destiny had a way of eliminating logic.

Shen smirked, pulling the metallic tong from the wall that seized his throat. He threw it aside, listening to it clang in the darkness and stood his place in front of the 'warrior destined to defeat him'. The world will see if _Po_ really is a warrior, that is, if he can survive a cannon blow – most likely _not_.

And that's all the bear has ever done, nag him with questions. What about his parents? Shen didn't know them! How would he know what happened to their bodies after he disposed of their corpses? Stupid panda.

"Oh, you want to know so badly. You think knowing will heal you, eh?" Shen swayed towards the drapery hiding his weapon, "Fill some… crater in your soul."

"Well, here's your answer: your parents didn't _love _you."

He swung back with swift motion and in a blink of an eye he was lighting his cannon, "But here… let me _heal_ you."

The cannon released, and it was silent. The lord only smiled at his handy work and paid no heed to others around him. His hearing seemed to clog from the excitement as he watched the glowing bullet from the cannon spiral and hit the panda, sending it flying out of the factory and leaving a massive hole in the wall.

Shen watched as the sky lit up like his crimson eyes, and for a moment he was in complete bliss, as if nothing could touch him. He let out a sigh, and then a soft laugh and his laughter became louder. He kept giggling, snickering and laughing to himself even after Master Tigress tackled him with a passion of hatred. She spat incoherent words at his face, not that he heard any of them since everything was as faint as the rain pitter pattering on the factory roofs.

He laughed even when his wings ached with pain when the tiger sunk her claws into them, and he laughed knowing that he honestly did not know whether the panda was ever loved by his parents.

He laughed, because whatever he had said had been about him.

But he wouldn't hit himself with cannon.

Even Shen knew that that won't be able to heal him.


End file.
